Network tools are used to monitor and diagnose network faults. These tools typically monitor network traffic and make determinations regarding transfer times and packet loss. Most of these tools provide testing across Open System Interconnection (OSI) layer 1 and 2 (Physical Layer and Data Link Layer) only. Further, many of these known tools are topology dependent, in that they must know the layout of the network in order to monitor and test the network. As the network changes, the tool information must be updated to keep up with the current network topology. Another problem associated with existing network tools is that they may generate heavy network loads in order to conduct tests and make measurements, which affect the network users. It would be desirable to have a network tool which provides testing capabilities across multiple OSI layers, which is topology independent, and which only generates a minimal amount of network traffic necessary to obtain the desired results.
With the foregoing background in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a testing tool for Internet Service Provider (ISP) network engineers which is used to diagnose network faults, characterize network performance and evaluate new equipment and software releases. The tool can be used to schedule and run proactive tests to identify network problems before subscribers are affected. Further, the tool can be used to provide testing on demand to quickly isolate the root cause of a problem identified by the tool or by network management systems or subscribers. The tool is topology independent and thus does not have to be reconfigured as the network changes. The tool only sends traffic as directed by the network engineer and thus does not generate undesirable heavy network traffic loads, unless such a heavy network loads are desired by the network engineer.